Best Food Facts gathered questions from consumers about foods grown using genetically-modified organisms. From those questions, we developed a five-part video series to address the many angles of this topic, including general information, food safety, nutrition, labeling and environmental impacts.

We paired up a California mom of two boys, Colleen Cecil, with Dr. Denneal Jamison-McClung, Associate Director of the Biotech Program at the University of California-Davis, to get a baseline understanding of what GMOs are, what they do in the plant and where you can find them in the grocery store.

We've explored the basics of genetic modification in the past with Dr. Peggy Lemaux from the University of California, Berkeley. For over a decade, Dr. Lemaux and her colleagues have worked to compile a database of such information for consumers and colleagues: www.UCBiotech.org. On the site, there are gobs of resources focused on biotechnology, which address the many angles of the topic.

With that, let’s start with the basics!

What is biotechnology?

Biotechnology literally means “the use of a living organism to perform a task or function.” Historically, the term was used to describe processes like cheese, yogurt, wine or beer production. In modern terms, however, biotechnology is commonly used to refer to the newer methods of genetic engineering of organisms.

What are genetically modified organisms?

The term GMO, or genetically modified organism, refers to “a plant or animal altered using modern techniques of genetic modification,” commonly termed genetic engineering. Since crops have been genetically modified by classical methods for centuries, a more accurate term for the foods and crops created with the technologies used today might be GE or genetically engineered.

Comments

Augmenting foods with another or a chemical makes commercial sense. Knowing which are and with which protein, etc is very very important for the public. Personally I am allergic to 52 food substances. A few I can work with [ease response] by moderation and rotation. There are a few that cause me to stop breathing. All the others in between can develop one way or the other by exposure. Please encourage full information on packaging to perhaps keep me living and certainly to make my life better. Thank-you

Foods containing GMOs should definitely be labeled so I can decide for myself if I want to consume them. I don't care what the "experts" say, I believe they contribute to a great number of health problems. Corn, soy and canola help make food cheap and who is eating most of this cheap food? The poor, of course and suffering the health consequences because of it. Then the politicians want to deny them healthcare. Congress won't enact laws to protect our food supply because somebody is going to lose money. And finally, I believe many people are heavier than their contemporaries 40 years ago because of the GMOs and hormones in the food we eat.